Feb 28 2008
A number of hi-tech businesses in the East Midlands are set to benefit from a new fund to help them become more innovative.
The Centre of Excellence in Metrology for Micro and Nano Technologies (CEMMNT) has received a £250,000 grant from the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) to accelerate innovation in the East Midlands over 3 years. The funding will be channelled to assist SME companies in particular, through the supply of metrology, surface analysis and systems engineering services.
CEMMNT will offer the extensive expertise of specialists from its industry leading partners (BAE Systems, National Physical Laboratory (NPL), QinetiQ, Taylor Hobson and Coventor) to organisations in the region. Key focus sectors will include the health care and transport equipment industries, which form 2 of emda’s iNET innovation networks. Among its activities, CEMMNT will hold targeted workshops, surgeries and training events for local companies. The benefits of measurement and characterisation at key stages of product development and manufacturing life cycles, particularly for micro and nano technologies, are substantial. CEMMNT’s open access provision of these services, from the Centres of Excellence facilities of its partners, will enable regional companies to accelerate their own products and process innovations.
The CEMMNT Hub, based at Loughborough within the Systems Engineering Innovation Centre, will be the focal point for co-ordinating enquiries and will act as a one-stop portal to provide problem solving advice for organisations in the East Midlands.
David Wallace, emda’s International and Innovation Director said: “For businesses to compete effectively in the modern, global economy, it is vitally important that they are able to develop and exploit ideas. This grant, will enable CEMMNT to provide companies working in the micro and nano technology sector with the specialised support that they need in order to innovate.